091822        Praxis Class Meeting

Ephesians 1:3-14, Title: His Joyful Will

1. Word Prayer (All): Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ(3). God, we Christians are people who have received many blessings from God. Above all, we confess that there is no greater blessing than having us serve God as our Father and making us children. God, we repent of failing to live a life of sharing and giving to our neighbors although you bestowed spiritual blessings to us. Jesus, with the power of your precious blood, remove the greed and desire that only think of myself. Holy Spirit, move our hearts so that we can see our neighbors in need and have compassion like Jesus. we pray in the name of Jesus. amen.

2. Icebreaker: What was the happiest thing in your life? Or what blessings have I received? Let's share.

3. Singing(Hymn): assigned by leader

4. Reading the scripture: Ephesians 1:3-14

5. Understanding the Text:

According to today's text, we Christians are those who spiritually blessed(verse 3). The blessings have been given to us by God through Jesus Christ. The spiritual blessing we have received is that God becomes our Father and we become sons and daughters of God (verse 5). Even before the foundation of the world, God has chosen and predestined us to be sons and daughters. It seems that my attending Sunday worship service or Bible study is a result of my own will or determination, but if you look more closely, it is happenings that God has predestined.

It was God's good will that He predestined us to become His children (v. 5). God is pleased that we become sons and daughters and He is our father. It is like having children in a family brings great joy to parents. In a family, a father sacrifices himself to feed, dress, and teach his children well. Heavenly Father also sacrificed himself on the cross to feed us well with the word, which is spiritual food, to dress us well in linen clothes, which are clean and flawless conduct, and to teach us well through spiritual training. Heavenly Father is the One who strengthens the weak, heals the sick, gives hope to the frustrated, and makes way for the lost. So, as children of God, we can rely on God and cry out to God when we are having a hard time. Heavenly Father is always with us in good times and bad times, happy times and sad times.

God is pleased when children turn away from sin and lead a holy, blemish-free life. Any sin can be forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross (verse 7). If we repent in front of Jesus, who shed blood for our sins, we can wash away our sins and transgressions. Through this repentance, children are gradually transformed into spiritual believers. Also, through spiritual life such as meditation on the Word, prayer, and praise, we become holy children.

God reveals mystery to His holy and blameless children (verse 9). In verse 10, the secret is that all things in heaven and on earth might be unified in Christ. The opposite of unity is division. In the Garden of Eden, the devil, in the form of a serpent, worked to separate Adam and Eve from God. Even today, the devil enters the church and continues to divide the members of the church. But God's will is unity, not division. The unity of oneness between Heavenly Father and His children is God's mystery. In addition, the mystery of God is the unity of becoming one between family members and neighbors.

The mission of the mystery that God has given to His children is to unify all things in Christ. He has established us as workers who become one family in Christ Jesus and achieve unity with others. God's children must become apostles of peace, unifying where there is jealousy, division, and contention.

 

6. Questions for Understanding:

6.1. With what relationship did God have predestined us(verse 5)?

6.2. Through what have we been forgiven of our sins (verse 7)?

6.3. What is the mystery of God's will (verse 10)?

 

7. Questions for Application

7.1. What did I realize in today's study? What words do you think are most important to you?

7.2. What is my spiritual state right now? What is my prayer lists now?

7.3. What is a life without unity to me?

7.4. As a child of God, what can I do to please God?
8. Prayer(add your prayer lists):

God, you made us children and gave us spiritual blessings. Help us to become children of God who share spiritual blessings in the world. As a child of God, through prayer, worship, and the Word, let us be transformed and become like the holy and blameless God in our daily lives. Through today's Word, we realized that God's desire is for all things to be unified in Christ. God sent Jesus Christ to this earth to unify our broken relationship with God, that had been cut off because of our sin. When Jesus came to this earth, he united the divided relationships between people through love. Holy Spirit, lead us to work to bring people who have lost their relationship with you back to you. Give us the strength to work in the love of Christ to unite those who are divided in a fallen world. We pray in the name of Jesus. amen.

9. Praise/ Announcements/